Maryland
Montgomery County summit responds to transgender health care challenges
Council Vice President Kate Stewart’s son is trans
Maryland earns high marks overall from the Movement Advancement Project for its LGBTQ policy protections, including becoming a “shield” state for transgender health care, but a Montgomery County survey that found trans youth face difficulties in accessing care prompted Council Vice President Kate Stewart and a county health nonprofit to convene a virtual roundtable on Saturday.
“My son transitioned when he was in high school and our local pharmacy regularly did not have the correct size syringes,” Stewart told the Washington Blade during a telephone interview. “I had to take off from work and drive from Takoma Park to Chase Brexton in Howard County. That’s not a quick drive, and not accessible by public transportation.”
She said Trans Maryland’s work helped make syringes more available now, but more needs to be done to increase access to equitable care at the local level.
Maryland is one of 15 states, along with D.C., to which the Movement Advancement Project gave a high overall score for its LGBTQ policies. In terms of trans health care equity, 22 states have banned medically advised care for transitioning youth as of 2023, with Missouri banning similar care for adults. In response, D.C. and 14 states, including Maryland, enacted “shield” laws to protect equal access to health care.
Maryland’s Trans Health Equity Act, effective Jan. 1, requires Medicaid to cover trans-affirming care. However, a Montgomery County survey found 41 percent of those needing such care reported difficulty finding it in the county.
While the report listed three clinics — Planned Parenthood, Mary’s Center and CCI Health Services — trans residents were unaware of their services or where to look for them locally. More familiar were services provided by Chase Brexton Health and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Health, mostly due to their long histories of work and advocacy across the region. But for the gender-diverse leaders on the panel, equity meant having local access to health care.
“Those without transportation or wealth aren’t able to receive transition health care in their community,” said Rev. Ali K. C. Bell, a minister for Congregational Life at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church.
Bell said he was privileged to be able to travel to Baltimore for the health care he needed but was disappointed by the economic disparity.
CCI Health Services, a community health center with a decades-long history in the area, joined with Stewart in hosting the roundtable to address the issues raised by the report.
CCI Chief Medical Officer Dr. Will Giodano-Perez announced a new clinic specializing in sexual and minority health, but acknowledged more could be done to address legacy discrimination and abuse.
“Our mission is to promote excellent health care for everyone,” Giodano-Perez said. “We have to be aware of what kinds of conversations we are not having with our patients and to focus on [addressing] our own biases.”
Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder spoke of their experiences often educating health care professionals while being treated.
“One day I’m going to invoice that doctor about ‘training’ them on how to treat me and others like me,” said Blinder, who grew up in Montgomery County. “I’d like to have a provider that I don’t have to train. When you’re sitting there in that paper gown, you’re vulnerable.”
Bell also emphasized everyone in the provider’s office needs to be trained in order for the health care experience to be considered affirming. Looking to the future, Amena Johnson, the LGBTQ liaison for the Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships, stated that health disparities faced by LGBTQ seniors should be addressed as well.
“We are not all children or young people. I hope to be an old trans person one day, and it doesn’t look like a great landscape, frankly,” Blinder said before relaying an experience about visiting their grandmothers in retirement facilities and the care teams not being ready to interact with them as a trans grandchild, much less as a future trans resident.
Giodano-Perez acknowledged the pain caused by these difficult health care experiences, but admitted one health organization cannot handle these issues alone and it would take involvement and support from the community.
“We are limited with how much time we have,” he explained, noting the frustration of not being able to address all of the social determinants of health, but also not wanting to see “another of our patients pass from suicide.”
He stated one place to start was to make care respectful and effective for everyone.
“Sounds basic,” he said, “but we’re going to tackle these things.”
Stewart told the Blade her challenges seeking care for her son showed her health equity was about having access to resources where you lived.
“On a map it may look like, well, we have Chase Brexton over here and Whitman-Walker in D.C.,” she said, “but connecting with people’s everyday experiences … shows how much work we still have to do.”
Maryland
FreeState Justice to lose more than $300K in federal funding
DOJ program funded full-time employees, services for 600 Marylanders this year
FreeState Justice on Monday said it will lose more than $300,000 in federal funding on July 1.
The organization in a press release said the funds from the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Program supported LGBTQ survivors of crime in Maryland. FreeState Justice notes this funding “makes up almost 25 percent of the legal aid organization’s overall budget, and 60 percent of its direct service budget.”
FreeState Justice began to receive funds from the program in 2018.
“FreeState Justice is the only organization providing trauma-informed, culturally relevant legal services to LGBTQ+ Marylanders,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry. “This funding cut is devastating to our community and the clients we serve, and it undermines the promise of equal justice for all.”
Westry noted the funding supported “2.5 full-time employees on our team of seven.” FreeState Justice Legal Director Lauren Pruitt added upwards of 600 people have benefitted from programs this funding supported so far this fiscal year.
“With our help, our clients report escaping violence, gaining housing, accessing documents, and reclaiming their voice,” said Pruitt. “For years, these funds have helped us to support Marylanders who have survived crimes, including about 600 people so far this fiscal year. Our services empower survivors to define and achieve safety, stability, and justice in the ways that matter most to them.”
“We are calling on the community to step up for Maryland’s LGBTQ+ survivors so that we can continue these essential services,” added Westry. “More than ever, we’ll need their support to continue getting our life-saving resources to those who need them most.”
FreeState Justice notes the Trump-Vance administration has cut $50 million “in grants and funding that support organizations that serve victims of crimes.” Westry on Monday in an email to supporters asked for their support to help fill the funding gap.
Rockville hosted its 9th annual Pride celebration on Sunday.
Organizations and sponsors partnered with the city and its Human Rights Commission to bring the event to life in the Rockville Town Center Park at the Square.
“We want our community to know how safe and how protected they are and that we would support our community,” City Clerk Sara Taylor-Ferrell, who is director of council operations, said. “It’s a gathering for families and friendship; it’s just a good event for our community engagement.”
Taylor-Ferrell said the Rockville community feels safe and comfortable at the event, and she hopes the event will continue to grow bigger each year.
“I think this is going to be a great thing that we can say our legacy is with Pride,” she said.
The Rainbow Youth Alliance, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, the Barker Adoption Foundation, Maryland Trans Unity, and other organizations gathered along the Square to spread awareness and celebrate the LGBTQ community.
Shane Henise, program director for the Rainbow Youth Alliance, an LGBTQ support group for teens from 13- to 18-years-old, said he wanted to come out and let people know that the organization is there for the younger LGBTQ community.
“I think this is a really hard time for queer and trans youth generally, and we want them to know they have a safe place to come,” he said.
Henise said Pride is more important this year than ever, especially with the “attacks” on gender-affirming care for youth.
“We want to counteract that immense amount of negativity and messages they’re receiving with positivity,” Henise said. “You are who you are. We love you, we support you.”
Speaking in front of a crowd of around 50 people, with hundreds walking around to stop and listen, Mayor Monique Ashton and other City Council members addressed the crowd and highlighted the importance of Pride.
Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass said Montgomery County always leads with its heart.
“We, the LGBTQ + community, are under threat and under attack by this president, by the Supreme Court, and while we have our challenges, there is no place I’d rather live than here in Montgomery County,” Glass said to the crowd. “We welcome our neighbors, we love them fairly and justly. We choose to love and we choose to be inclusive. That’s what pride is all about.”
With rainbow flags waving in the town square, attendees stopped by information tables, a clothing pop-up shop, face painting stations and a voter registration table.
Performers took to the stage in between speakers, such as local band the Nighthawks, members of the Rockville Musical Theater and a drag queen from drag story hour who read picture books to children in the crowd.
There was a sense of pride and family at the event, according to Cynethia Williams, the Montgomery County chair of Free Mom Hugs.
“There’s a sense of happiness and excitement about our future, even though it’s super scary right now in America,” Williams said. “It’s great to see that so many people are like, ‘They’re not going to take this stuff from us.’”
As a queer and Black woman, Williams said being at Rockville Pride was a revolution itself.
“I’m a revolter from birth, (from) being in this skin, so just being here is a revolt. It’s time for us to get together and fight,” she said. “Specifically for Free Mom Hugs, we want to make sure that our presence is known, that people know that we’re here and that … there’s a group of people that are ready to cheer them on, hug them, give them love.”
Maryland
Annapolis Pride postponed due to weather
Parade and festival will not happen as scheduled, other events to take place
The annual celebration of the Annapolis LGBTQ community has been put on hold due to forecasted severe weather.
The Annapolis Pride parade and festival, both of which were supposed to take place on May 31, have been postponed until a later date.
Annapolis Pride Board Chair Joe Toolan announced the decision this afternoon, citing information given to the Pride board from emergency management agencies and weather forecasting models.
“The safety of our community comes first,” Toolan said. “Based on guidance from the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the 2025 Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival due to the very real threat of severe thunderstorms, lightning, and flooding.
“We are hoping to reschedule for some time this fall,” he added.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado and flood watches for large portions of the Mid-Atlantic area, more specifically in areas of Virginia, D.C., and Maryland — including Anne Arundel County where Annapolis is located.
The tornado watch only lasts until midnight, but the impacts of heavy downpours in the area can already be seen where the parade and festival were set to take place. The festival grounds at Bates Middle School are already experiencing flooding and over-saturation, and a flood watch remains in effect with more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
“We are all sad and terribly disappointed that we cannot proceed with the parade and festival on Saturday,” Toolan said. “Hundreds of hours have been spent on planning and coordination, and we were expecting tens of thousands of attendees. But at the end of the day, safety concerns outweigh all other concerns.”
Toolan said the Pride board will announce a rescheduled date as soon as it is confirmed.
Even though the Annapolis Pride parade and festival have been postponed, there are a slew of other planned Pride events that will go on as scheduled:
May 30 – Ladies Night – SOLD OUT
6–10 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis
June 1 – Drag Brunch at Leo – SOLD OUT
10 a.m., Leo Annapolis Restaurant, 212 West St.
June 1 – Ecumenical Pride Worship Service
3 p.m., Eastport United Methodist Church, Annapolis
June 3 – Annapolis Pride Beer Launch
4–7 p.m., Forward Brewing, Annapolis
June 5 – Pride on the Pier
6–9 p.m., Bread and Butter Kitchen, Annapolis
June 6 – Big Gay Dance Party
10 p.m.–close, Tsunami Restaurant, 51 West St., Annapolis
June 7 – Pop-Up Market: Benefiting Annapolis Pride
10 a.m.–3 p.m., Annapolis Town Center
Special discounts @Kendra Scott 6/7–6/8
June 14 – Silent Disco
7–11 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis
June 21 – Teen Dance Party
6–9 p.m., Art Farm, Annapolis
For high school freshmen – juniors
*ticketed event
For more information on the postponement of Annapolis Pride, visit https://annapolispride.org/
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